The Gamer Girl Chapter 2: The Grind, a rwby fanfic

The Grind

A/N: Not THAT Grind... Get your mind out of the gutter... Sheesh.

"Time to grind."

"..."

"One thing before we do that..."

"What does 'grind' mean?" Jaune guessed curiously, albeit innocently.

"What does grind mean," Blake deadpanned.

Jaune sighed, a blush beginning to overcome his features as he realized the double entendre he had just let slip. Nonetheless, he adopted a confident smirk and crossed his arms matter-of-factly.

"Well, Miss Belladonna, that's just one of many gaming terms you're gonna have to get used to now that we're working with your semblance. 'Grinding' is another word for the hard work that goes into leveling up... you know, 'the grind'?"

Blake blinked, a slow-burning blush lightly reddening her cheeks, "Oh... for a second I, thought it meant... something else..."

"Nope!" Jaune exclaimed with a grin, glad that he hadn't totally ruined his good streak he had going on, "So it might be a good idea to get your gear before we go. 'Cuz I don't think you'll be able to grind very well unarmed and in basketball shorts."

'Does he have to keep using that word?' Blake hedged internally, feeling uncomfortably warm at the notion but quickly shrugging it off realizing that she'd have to get used to it one way or another.

"I'll... see what I can grab from my dorm."

And with that, Blake stepped out of Jaune's dorm and shut the door behind her, letting out a heavy sigh and wiping her brow with the sleeve of her hoodie before slipping into her dorm.

Quietly making her way from the door to the closet, she couldn't help recapping what had just happened.

'What's gotten into me? Tripping up on words... checking out Jaune...'

But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a light cough. Freezing in place as she noticed Weiss turning in her sleep, she kept perfectly still lest the heiress wake.

PING!

'Oh not now!'

[A skill has been created through a special action.]

PING!

[A skill to avoid detection, Stealth, has been created.]

'Oh,' Blake deadpanned at the glowing window before a sly cat grin grew across her face, 'Now that's a skill I can work with.'

Waiting for a moment more in her current position for good measure, Blake then slowly inched her way into the thankfully open closet without making a sound, silently shutting the closet door behind her.

"Phew..."

PING!

[Stealth's level has risen by 1.]

Blake chuckled darkly at the notification window before closing it out, rubbing her hands together in elated anticipation of the... grinding? ...that would be necessary to level up that particular skill.

'Maybe this Oum-forsaken semblance won't turn out to be too terrible after all,' she mused internally, now setting herself to the task at hand, 'Now to get to business.'

As she looked over the outfits in the closet, her mind drifted to the topic of Jaune momentarily once more. But at this point, her usually analytical mind, now imbued with the calmness of the Gamer's Mind, easily rationalized her previous actions as a moment of weakness. After all, Jaune was the first male she had interacted with for quite some time that she wasn't either trying to actively avoid or to smash their face in.

But taking off her hoodie and shorts, leaving her in front of the full-body closet mirror in only her bow, grey panties and matching sarashi which she preferred over conventional bras, Blake scratched the back of her head as she rethought her outfit.

"I'm thinking I should probably ditch my usual get-up if I'm going to be facing enemies without the aid of my previous semblance... probably should go with something with more... coverage."

A light blush forming as she recalled how scantily clad the battle at the pavilion the day before had left her, the catgirl then turned to her section of the closet and immediately picked out her Intruder outfit.

Slipping on her snug black leggings which had a grey stripe on each side, she bent over and pulled them up until they sat just under her toned tummy and waist before hooking the belt-pouch in place, the knee-length black and violet banner-like pieces of fabric attached to it falling freely at her sides and around her hip. Then taking her calf-length boots out the corner, she ensured the single black military strap on each was well secured before straightening up and looking for her top.

"Haaaa..."

Indulging herself in a silent morning yawn and a brief stretch with arms over head which brought much relief to her tensed back, she reached over and pulled out the white v-neck zip-up shirt, putting it on in a single turning motion. Once she zipped it up to satisfactory height, checking her mid-length sleeves and slipping on the black ribbons she customarily kept on her forearms, she flashed a quick smirk at her reflection and reached out for-

"Oh no... Gambol..."

In a corner of the closet lay the sheath of her weapon, the area where her blade would normally occupy all but empty except for a brief note. Blake picked it up and scanned over its contents.

Thought it'd be a good idea to send your blade to the forge to have it fixed while you were busy drooling on your pillow. Should be done by end of day! Feel free to thank me with a back massage~

-xoxo, Yang

Rolling her eyes as she stashed the note in her pocket and slung her sheath over her back, Blake huffed as she mentally re-read the note.

"Typical Yang..."

Straightening out her top, which to her chagrin she had forgotten didn't cover her midriff at all, Blake sighed at herself and silently slid out of the closet and dorm.

PING!

[Stealth's level has risen by 1.]

"Hehe~"

"Ready?"

"Gah!" Blake jumped back as the mildly-startled Jaune paused mid-inspection and sheathed his sword to look at her.

"Huh, that's a new outfit..."

"You snuck up on me," the miffed faunus-girl hedged as she walked towards him, punching him in the arm as she passed him by.

He threw up his arms in exasperation behind her, "I didn't do anything! You came to me!"

'Apparently I need to re-develop my detection skills,' she mused as the blonde finally caught up to her, 'This semblance is rather irksome.'

"Everything okay?" he asked slowly, treading cautiously lest he set her off again.

Blake huffed sharply, the draft blowing her bangs upwards for a second before she turned back to Jaune, "As far as current circumstances allow, yes. It seems some of my previous abilities aren't up to par under my new semblance."

Jaune cocked a brow at the information, "You mean you've been nerfed."

"Nerfed?"

"You know," Jaune began to explain with a noncommittal shrug, "When certain skills or stats get downgraded from one gaming platform to another."

The catgirl couldn't help scoffing at the fact, "Well that's stupid..."

"Yeah, life can be unfair that way sometimes... don't even get me started on how much they nerfed Samus in the new Smash Bros game-"

"Jaune..." Blake interrupted with a glare, albeit a not-so-harsh one over a small smirk.

"Oh... hehe, right," he chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "Anyway, back on topic. We gotta see how well you do leveling up against Grimm. A few kills should be enough for you to get the hang of things!"

"So that's why we're going into the Emerald Forest?" Blake questioned as the pair slipped out of the campus undetected and made their way towards the forest.

"That's right."

"And indiscriminately killing Grimm is supposed to help me level up faster?"

"Right again! Two for two," Jaune quipped, flashing her another grin as they reached the tree line and he brandished his sword.

But holding an arm out to stop him in his tracks, Blake put a finger to her mouth in a warning gesture, each student holding still as a light breeze flitted through the evergreen canopy around them.

"What is it?" Jaune whispered cautiously.

Blake looked around once more, scanning the area with a raised brow until deeming it safe to reply, "We may be a fair distance from the cliffside, but there may still be Grimm lurking between that area and our current position. Without my previous level of enemy detection, I'd rather play this one as safely as possible."

Jaune shrugged in acknowledgment before treading behind his new companion, the students carefully making their way through the woods with weapons unsheathed as Blake took the lead.

"You know, we will have to actually run into some Grimm in order for this to work... you know that, right?" the knight quietly spoke after a few minutes of uneventful hiking.

"Of course I know that," Blake began, keeping her eyes ahead of herself as she continued onward, "But just to be sure, any skill I have can be leveled up with repeated actions, yes?"

"Well technically," Jaune began in his normal-volume voice, prompting Blake to turn and give him another shushing gesture before he continued in a whisper once more, "Well technically, that's how most passive skills work. Some active skills may only be voice activated, so you should watch out for those."

"Hmm, okay..." Blake trailed off as she was struck with an idea.

"Hey, what are you-!" Jaune yelped but was cut off as Blake went down to a crouch, dragging him down with her under some thick bushes as she quieted him once again.

He waited for a few seconds, beginning to fear for his life at the possibility of something big and dangerous around the corner, before glancing at the smirking faunus girl with a confused expression.

"What's going on now?"

PING!

[Stealth's level has risen by 1.]

To Jaune's surprise, Blake snickered at nothing in particular, his confusion growing more until she finally spoke up.

"So, for me to level up certain skills, I don't exactly need a reason to use them... just the mere action causes the level to go up! This is almost too simple~"

Jaune blinked at her as he caught on to what she was saying, "Wait. So you get an alert every time a skill levels up or something?"

Blake nodded smugly.

"So... then you're saying you nearly gave me a heart attack, not because we were in any actual danger, but because you wanted to test a skill!?"

She nodded again, but this time more slowly and without the smirk.

The blonde then stood up, throwing his arms out like someone who had just heard a terrible joke, "Well a little heads up will be nice next time!"

"Jaune... Where are you going?" Blake asked as the knight began walking away, to which he turned, still walking backwards out of the forest into a clearing as he spoke up... though not exactly to answer her question.

"Honestly, I've only been with you for like fifty minutes and I can already tell you're like my whole team in one person: Nora's unpredictability, Pyrrha's skill, and Ren's mysterious silent type thing!"

The cat faunus in question raised a brow at the somewhat accurate description, deciding whether or not to count that as a compliment when her eyes suddenly went wide as to where Jaune was heading.

"Jaune, wait! Don't take another step!"

"I'm just getting a decent vantage point for us to find some low-level Grimm or something!" Jaune shouted, now at a decent distance from the increasingly worried ravenette, "But I didn't quite catch what you just said!"

Blake cupped her hands around her mouth in a desperate measure to get the point across before it was too late, "I said, DON'T TAKE ANOTHER-"

CLANK.

Jaune froze as his back foot stepped on something hard, "Umm..."

ticktickticktickticktickticktick...

"...Did I step on a landmine or something!?"

Blake could only put a hand over her mouth in shock as she gently shook her head, "Oh... it's so much worse than that..."

...ticktickticktickDING!

Jaune barely had the chance to look down to realize what he had literally gotten himself into, "Why-"

TWANG!

"-MMMEEEEEeeeeeiii...!?"

Blake sighed, deadpanning as she shook her head, "Jaune, only you would find a way to get yourself flung off a cliffside launchpad twice in one year."

Meanwhile, in midair...

"This is NOT how I imagined myself dying! It's NOT!" Jaune shrieked as he awkwardly flew through the air.

Spiraling rapidly, he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep from being disoriented further, his panic rising as he realized there would be no Miló to nail him to a tree this time. But he desperately needed a way to break his fall. If only he had a force field...

"Wait!" Jaune exclaimed, his eyes shooting open as he was struck with an idea and heard a faint second twang in the distance, "Force field! Of course!"

Recalling how Pyrrha had unlocked his aura and the effect it'd had when he was up against Cardin, Jaune knew that at the very least his aura was extremely effective at defense. But just how much, was a chance he was willing to barter his life on as he expanded his shield.

"I will LIVE..." Jaune began as he held his shield out in front of him like a buffer, willing his entire being into bracing itself for impact against a particularly robust tree, "To die another DAAAAAY!"

And to his surprise, just before impact he saw his body begin to glow...

BOOOM! KRKRKR-CRRRUUUNCH! eeeeeeee-CRASSSHHH!

Some indeterminate amount of time later, Jaune finally awoke face-up on the ground to see the remnants of his white glow dissipating as a poker-faced Blake appeared above him.

"Did... Did you see that?" he croaked weakly as he turned to her and tried flashing a grin.

"You blew a hole in a sequoia... and then crashed through a redwood... and then completely shattered a pine tree. Which broke your fall as you fell on top of it without receiving a single scratch," Blake began flatly, explaining the events until giving a slight pause to break a smile, "All in all... crude, but impressive Jaune."

"Wait," the knight deadpanned in surprise, "You mean I'm not in pieces strewn about the woods right now!?"

Blake held a hand to her mouth to stifle a chuckle, "Pfft, no Jaune. You should be fine. Let me help you up."

And taking his hand to help him up with little more than a groan on his part, Jaune was soon standing without issue.

"Thanks," he began, brushing himself off as he bounced on the balls of his feet a bit to ensure nothing felt off, "Now all we gotta do is get away from this clearing, cuz I'm sure lots of Grimm heard-"

grr...

Blake's feline ears perked up underneath her bow, the all-too-familiar sound growing by the second.

GRRRRR...

"This is bad, isn't it," Jaune remarked flatly.

PING!

[After detecting an overwhelming amount of bloodthirst, you unlocked the skill Detect Bloodthirst.]

DING!

[Derect Bloodthirst (Passive) LV1 - EXP: 0.00%]

A skill that detects any bloodlust directed at the user.
It is an instinctive skill.
Detects bloodlust within 30m from the user's location.
It also alerts the user of its origin.

Blake cleared her throat nervously as she read the first pale red window she'd seen with skill details since the core Gamer skills in JNPR's dorm.

"Umm..."

PING!

[Detect Bloodthirst's level has risen by 1.]

"...yeah. It's bad."

"Great," Jaune sighed sarcastically, slowly twirling his sword out to a battle position, "Out from the frying pan and into the fire."

Blake turned towards the ominous myriad of red eyes surrounding them from behind the dark canopies and inched closer to Jaune with a single command as she unsheathed Shroud, "Just stay behind me and watch my back... we can make it through..."

Jaune nodded as the rumbling growling around the entire area came to an eerie stop.

"Let's do this."

RAAAWWWRRR!

Three Beowolves pounced at once at the pair, Blake cutting down the first Grimm before it got near them and Jaune blocking the gaping maw of the second. Slamming it down to the floor and pinning it as well as he could, Jaune yelled as he slashed down several times, dismembering the beast completely until it was little more than disintegrating wisps of black smoke.

"Heh... ha HA!" he exclaimed in pride, hoisting Crocea Mors in the air victoriously only to turn and find eleven or twelve Grimm carcasses withering away on the floor around them, the dealer of the damage still in combat stance as she stared at a particular spot in the forest, "Aw man. Outdone again."

"We've only bought ourselves a reprieve," Blake began quickly in a hushed whisper, "More are coming."

"Can we run?" Jaune asked with slight alarm.

"Too late."

He groaned silently, lightly panting as he began to feel the soreness in his body, "Then tell me you've at least leveled up."

She turned to him and cracked a sorry smile, "Not really, I'm afraid. Each kill is only worth about twenty EXP, but I did level up on my Sword Mastery skill at least."

Jaune gave a brief thumbs up before heaving a long sigh, "You know, Ruby once told me about a time she came across a whole horde of Beowolves..."

"We have neither the ammo nor the semblance to emulate her skill right now," Blake replied flatly, "Right now we just need to- LOOK OUT!"

And in a flash, the ravenette leapt towards Jaune and swung her sheath across the Beowolf that had tried sneaking up on Jaune from behind, hacking its arm off then cracking its skull open with the thick side of Gambol Shroud's sheath.

The Grimm dematerialized completely by the time it even hit the floor.

PING!

[A skill has been created through a special action.]

PING!

[A skill to utilize blunt weapons freely, Blunt Weapon Mastery, has been created.]

"D'ohhh, I don't need that..." Blake hedged under her breath.

"Blake, behind you!"

And immediately sensing the direction that the bloodthirsty Beowolf was approaching behind her, the miffed catgirl let out her frustrations in one fell swoop.

"Hiii-YAH!"

SSSRAK!

The sheath flew as if it were crafted to be the blade instead, the solid frame making merciless contact with the aggressor. Completely obliterating the creature of Grimm, Blake smirked and straightened out with a satisfied hmpf as it fell to the floor in halves.

PING!

[A skill has been created through a special action.]

[A skill to deliver a strong blow, Power Strike, has been created.]

DING!

'Another red window?' the catgirl thought to herself, now figuring out the difference in the notification sounds.

[Power Strike (Active) LV1 - EXP: 0.00%]

Strikes the target with strong force.
15% increase in critical rate.
50% increase in attack damage.

"Yes!" Blake exclaimed in as hushed a way as she could manage, the knight surprised at the small fistpump she did through the air, "Now that sounds more like it."

"Did you level up?"

"No," Blake replied with a smile, further confusing the Arc, "But I received my first Active skill!"

"Great," Jaune quipped with a tired smile, "Cuz you might wanna use it on that guy. Along with any info that might help me beat these things easier too."

Blake turned to find another lone Beowolf standing in the clearing, growling and baring its black fangs as the catgirl thought of a way to examine it.

Her head ticked to the side as she mumbled aloud, "Wait. I wonder if I could observe- oh!"

Beowolf LV8
HP: 300(300) MP:50

A Creature of Grimm; a ravenous, destructive force that covers the majority of Remnant.
It hates mankind, setting its sights on man and his creations.
Although prone to leaving openings for blocks and counters, it has high STR and critical rate.

"Got it!" Blake yelled in Jaune's direction, keeping her eyes on her foe that was within pouncing distance, "Just let them strike first! Block, then counter for higher success rate!"

GRRAWR!

The catgirl ducked under the grimm's first overhead swipe, waiting for her opportunity.

"Remember the active skill!" Jaune shouted quickly, "It'll most likely be voice activated!"

Watching her narrow her eyes and gripping her sheath with both hands under the Beowolf as it completed its slashing arc, Jaune gaped at how Blake began to glow a dim pale blue as she swung her sword around in a full turn from the ground upwards for momentum.

"rrrrrrr-POWER STRIKE!"

POW!

Striking the underbelly of the tall beast, Gambol Shroud made contact with so much force that the entire creature exploded in a violent blast of black mist. Blake stood there panting as the smoke settled around her, wide-eyed at her own work.

"I-I can't believe it!" Jaune exclaimed in hysterical disbelief with a hand to his head, "You just One-Hit-Killed a Grimm - I thought only Yang could do that!"

"I've never been able to do that before with a single melee strike," Blake mumbled slowly as she looked down at her still-glowing hands.

But almost as if the explosion were a long-distance dinner bell from hell, the entire vicinity around the pair rumbled to life, several fairly agitated Beowolves now appearing and ready to strike.

"Hah!" Jaune snickered confidently both for himself and his powerful companion, "Alright you wily coyotes... come get some!"

ROARRR!

Jaune sprinted towards the first Beowolf's attack, shield raised to block its first strike, "Yahhh!"

Blake turned with renewed vigor, gritting her teeth as her body began to faintly glow once more against the pack of oncoming darkness.

"Power Strike!"

Metal and bone-cracking carnage resounded throughout the woods, seconds stretching into minutes as the fighting continued until Jaune stood over his five kill streak with pride.

"Heh... that actually worked..."

"J-Jaune?"

The panicked voice caused the knight to quickly turn to see Blake facing the last three Beowolves of the pack of at least two dozen that had attacked them. However, her arms seemed to be shaking, barely able to hold up her smoking weapon as she eyed the prowling beasts.

"Jaune," she began slowly once more, strained worry pulling at her voice, "I... I can't move... you need to get out of here!"

"Not a chance!"

The Arc quickly sprung into action as the first Beowolf made its move, cracking its jaw with the blunt force of Crocea Mors' shield as he turned to deliver a back-handed slash across the spine of the second. But the third being left a clear path to its immobilized prey, all Blake could do was turn her head to bury it in her shoulder as the creature of Grimm pounced at her head jaw first.

SHHHUNK!

Blake slowly opened her eyes once she was sure that death hadn't overcome her, picking her head up but jerking it back as she saw the open jaw of the hideous beast merely inches from her face... but not as close as the tip of the sword that was currently protruding out of its disintegrating mouth.

Pulling out Crocea Mors from behind the beast and sheathing his weapon, Jaune stepped over and placed both hands hurriedly on Blake's shoulders, quickly checking her for injuries.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

Blake blinked as she desperately tried to figure it out herself, "I-I have no idea... no matter how hard I willed myself to attack, my body wouldn't let me... I... I could've gotten us both killed..."

Jaune furrowed his brows at the shivering girl, vehemently shaking his head as he tried to calm her, "Shh shh shh, no reason to say that - we are both alive and kicking," but unable to find any visible sign of damage, Jaune's brow quirked as a question came to mind, "Wait. Blake, can you check your status window? I want you to look for anything that has a zero on it."

Taking a deep breath and letting her Gamer's Mind do its work, Blake calmed down enough to stop shivering and nodded, "Status Window."

Name: Blake Belladonna
Class: The Gamer
Level: Lv12

...

HP: 465/500
MP: 0/300

...

STR: - 18 +

VIT: - 29 +

DEX: - 19 +

INT: - 13 +

WIS: - 7 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 10
Money: 300 Lien

"Anything?" Jaune asked as he stepped back and let the ravenette look over her stats.

Blake nodded slowly, still showing signs of strain as her body remained largely frozen in place, "Yes... there's an MP bar that says it's at zero."

"MP?" Jaune echoed quizzically, to which the catgirl nodded slowly, "Then that can't be anything other than Mana Points; your attack bar, so to speak. Once it reaches zero, you can't attack... except in your case it's worse. You... can't do anything."

Shuddering at the thought, Blake glanced at her stats once more, her brows shooting up as she took another look at the bar, "Wait! My Mana bar just went up by one!"

Taking a deep breath, she let out a small smile as she managed to roll her shoulders back and slowly sheath her weapon, flashing Jaune a wider smile before trying... and failing... to take her first step.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" the knight yelped as he quickly caught the weakened young woman before she hit the ground, "Yeah, sounds like your typical Mana Regeneration attribute, which in your case seems like one MP per minute. It might look like we're safe for now, but there's no telling that we won't run into any more Grimm on our way back... and I'm pretty sure that a single attack costs more than one MP."

"Then what do you suggest," Blake asked flatly as she looked up at him from his arms, "Waaa!"

She yelped in surprise as Jaune swept her up effortlessly into a bridal-style position in his arms, smirking at her as he made his way out of the clearing.

A few moments passed, Blake looking up at the knight carrying her through the woods before she spoke up with a faintly raised brow, "You know, Jaune, you could just let me walk and regenerate Mana on my own; the few points would be more than enough for me to handle any stray Grimm we meet on the way..."

Jaune jokingly scoffed at the proposition, "Or, we can have you rest for a while which in some cases causes a character's Mana to instantly regenerate fully. That way, you'd be able to handle enough Grimm to save both our butts!"

The catgirl smirked, smacking her lips chidingly before smacking Jaune's chestplate, "Fine. Have it your way."

The pair walked on for a few more minutes, Jaune shifting Blake's weight after a while to readjust her position which caused her to blush as his hand ran against her bare lower back during the process of regaining its hold.

"Sorry."

"It's... okay," Blake replied mousily, an awkward silence setting in between them as the faint pink hue in her cheeks remained.

Wanting to change the subject to ease the situation, Jaune spoke up about the first thing that came to mind, "Nice trick you pulled back there with figuring out the Beowolves. How'd you know about the blocking?"

Blake pursed her lips to the side in thought, recalling what she knew about the skill that had brought it about, "Well, I have this observation skill... which now that I think of it is likely another active skill, considering that it activates every time I say it..."

"Cool," Jaune replied with a small smile as he carefully stepped over a log, causing Blake to unexpectedly roll a little closer onto him, "Sorry again."

"It's fine," she quipped with a short chuckle, "But the skill gives me useful information about a target, sometimes stats and sometimes even some background information."

Jaune hummed with an impressed expression, "That could be really useful. Have you tried grinding that skill?"

"How would I do that?" the ravenette asked, quirking her brow in curiosity.

"Same way you leveled up your Stealth skill," Jaune hedged with a deadpan at his companion, "With repeated use."

Blake snorted at his expression, "Oh don't be so dramatic."

"You say dramatic, I say reasonable," Jaune defended with a huff, "You had me fearing for our lives!"

The faunus girl shrugged, brushing it off idly, "It would've been fine. Those Beowolves are only level eight after all."

At that, Jaune's eyes lit up, "Wait, you you can see others' levels too!? That's so cool, what level am I!"

Blake was suddenly able to look at anything and everything except him as she slowly replied, "Well you're... level six."

"Doesn't sound too bad. And you?"

"Level... twelve."

Blake almost expected for him to drop her right then and there, the Arc slowing down his walking speed as his jaw slackened a bit.

She was almost about to suggest him letting her walk on her own once more so he could come to terms with his less-than-satisfactory level when he spoke up flatly, "Well that's embarrassing. So does that mean you're twice as strong as me?"

The ravenette tried flashing an apologetic smile to comfort him as he resumed walking, "I don't know... maybe?"

At that, Jaune nearly tripped on an overgrown branch, thankfully keeping a solid grip which kept Blake from falling. But instead of suggesting she walk again, this time Blake merely raised a hand near Jaune's face as he continued the hike, the action catching his attention and prompting him to turn to her with a questioning glance.

"Do you... uh," Blake began quietly, her cheeks threatening to start blushing again as he slowed to a stop, "Do you mind?"

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring his denseness, Blake simply wrapped her arms around his neck lightly for support, pulling herself up to a more comfortable level for him to manage more easily.

"Just... that. It shouldn't be too much longer until we get back to campus anyway."

Jaune cleared his throat, fighting the faint blush growing on his cheeks as well. Having seven sisters, he was used to having a young woman literally hanging off of him, but this time was different for the obvious reason that the young woman now in his arms was definitely not related to him. It felt uncomfortable, but at the same time, it felt... nice.

Of course, in his thought process, 'nice' meant gentlemanly, being the helping hand he was supposed to be for any and all who needed it at the time.

"It's okay," he added after another moment or so of silence, "We should probably head to the library when we get back anyway."

"The library?" Blake echoed curiously, pretty sure the library wasn't exactly Jaune's preference considering that the last time she saw him there was when Neptune was introduced... and Jaune was practically dozing off behind an X-Ray and Vav comic.

Not that she was paying attention.

"Yeah," Jaune continued, adopting his usual casual attitude, "If there's one place you can level up your observation skills without looking like a total weirdo, it's looking through books at a library. Besides, libraries are kinda your thing, right?"

Blake smiled at his consideration, unable to deny the soundness of his logic. Maybe leveling up Observe could give even more useful info about her targets and enemies in the future.

"I... guess so," she replied warmly, "Are you sure you won't be too tired from hauling me all the way over there?"

He grinned at her, surprising her with the confidence that had seemed to come out of nowhere during the past couple hours, "Meh. I'll be fine. Actually, getting myself flung off the cliff kinda taught me how to summon my aura more easily. All I gotta do is concentrate and... there we go!"

And just like that, his body and arms began to glow a soft white, Blake immediately feeling his stride smooth out and his arms solidify underneath her. It was a strange sensation, feeling the emanating warmth that doubtlessly was his natural energy surrounding her... but it suddenly imbued her with a relaxing sense of peace.

Jaune walked on much more easily through the woods now, the ravenette readjusting herself slightly in his arms but with hers still around his neck. It really was a strange feeling... as if she felt she could be truly safe for the first time in ages.

"Wow... you must have quite a lot of aura to be able to do this after all we just did," Blake remarked in surprise as she noticed his aura's flow still going strong.

"But you did most of the work... besides felling some trees, I didn't really do much to expend my aura," Jaune defended simply, raising a brow at her indicatively.

"Alriiight," Blake hedged groggily, but more from the soothing warmth she was experiencing than her fatigue. As a matter of fact, she suddenly realized that she wasn't feeling any more fatigue at all.

She faked a cough to slip in a whispered command, "Ack, ahem! *status window* Ka. Kah."

Name: Blake Belladonna
Class: The Gamer
Level: Lv12

...

HP: 465/500
MP: 300/300

...

STR: - 18 +

VIT: - 29 +

DEX: - 19 +

INT: - 13 +

WIS: - 7 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 10
Money: 300 Lien

'Hmm... I haven't healed at all,' Blake observed mentally as she unwittingly rested her head on Jaune's shoulder pad, 'But Jaune was right. It seems that after about a half hour of rest, my MP bar refills entirely.'

Blake thought of telling the knight that she was fully rested now, she really did... But for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself around to doing it...

"Ack, would you look at that?" Jaune asked rhetorically with a smirk a few minutes later after realizing Blake's breathing had evened out and she had gone completely deadweight in his arms, snoozing peacefully, "Out like a light. I guess she really needed the rest."

It took a full twenty more minutes to get back to campus, but with his vast aura reserves, Jaune was surprised how easy it felt even when he let his aura fade out before putting the ravenette down outside the main grounds.

"Blake? Blake? Blaaa-"

"Wh-what?" the amber-eyed girl mumbled as she slowly woke, her eyes fluttering open until everything was clear around her including the grinning knight.

"Hey there sleepyhead, we're just outside Beacon, not too far from the library. Feeling up to some book browsing?"

"Haaaaa..." Blake yawned, stretching briefly where she sat before casting a hint of a smile at the knight, "Sure. Let's go."

It felt nice to be going to the library with someone else for once...

...

...Even if said person was only interested in reading comic books.

Blake glanced over at the chuckling knight as he flipped through the most recent issue of X-Ray and Vav, rolling her eyes as she browsed through another shelf in the vicinity and picked out a book.

"Observe."

[WAR AND PEACE - by Leo Tolstoy]

Delineates in graphic detail events surrounding the Great War, and the impact of the Menagerie Battles on Remnant society as seen through the eyes of five Faunus aristocratic families.

"A long read, but definitely worth it," Blake hummed happily as she replaced the book and pulled out another, "Observe."

[THE TWILIGHT SAGA - by Stephanie Myers]

Four fantasy romance novels that chart a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Atlas and falls in love with a 104-year-old bat-faunus named Edward Cullen.

"Ugh. Bite me."

Blake placed the book out of her sight before pulling out another one that had caught her eyes, "Hmm, Fifty Shades of Grey? Sounds interesting... Observe."

Blake's eyes slowly widened as she read through the information window of the book that could possibly - possibly - even rival Ninjas of Love, her gaze furtively darting to and fro before silently scanning it with her scroll to check it out of the library and placing it in her library bag.

PING!

[Observe's level has risen by 1.]

[Stealth's level has risen by 1.]

"A two-sided victory, I suppose," Blake reasoned before pulling out the last book in the row, "Interesting. A book about Aura, I wonder if Observe can-"

PING!

[You've obtained the skill book Aura: Advanced Manipulation and Techniques.]

Would you like to learn the skill?

Confirm (Y) - Decline (N)

"I'm... no longer certain that this has anything to do with Observe," Blake mumbled as she read and reread the window.

She bit her lip as she debated whether or not to go along with this unknown function. Was the use of aura simply a skill in her Gamer world? If so, what effect would learning these techniques have on her... would it even be possible? Nonetheless, curiosity slowly got the better of her and she could no longer resist, her hand reaching towards the Confirm button.

"I suppose there's no harm in trying..."

tap.

BEEP!

'That's a new sound,' the catgirl thought to herself as a dark red window popped up.

[You cannot learn this skill.]

Required VIT: 20
Required INT: 20

A saddened mewl escaped Blake's lips upon reading the window, the bow on top of her head slowly drooping until it suddenly shot up with an idea.

"Wait a minute... Status Window."

Name: Blake Belladonna
Class: The Gamer
Level: Lv12

...

HP: 465/500
MP: 300/300

...

STR: - 18 +

VIT: - 29 +

DEX: - 19 +

INT: - 13 +

WIS: - 7 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 10
Money: 300 Lien

"Just as I expected~" Blake whispered joyfully as the same cat grin from earlier grew on her face once more, "I already meet the Vitality requirement; I only need seven more INT points whereas I have ten to spare!"

Holding the book in one hand, Blake tapped her chin with a finger of her free hand as she came to a rather swift decision.

taptaptaptaptaptaptap

"There, that should do it."

Closing out the window, Blake glanced at the previous confirmation window and tapped the corresponding button with gusto.

FLASH!

PING!

[You have learned the skill Aura.]

DING!

[Aura (Passive/Active) LV1 - EXP: 0.00% MP: 30]

Aura - the manifestation of our soul.
A necessary energy source for all Hunters, being a powerful ally in battle which can be used in conjunction with that of others to defeat mighty foes.
Passive attributes can be used for a wide range of abilities depending on skill level.
Active attributes activate upon sensing danger.

PASSIVE:
Unlocks Dust Proficiency skill.
Unlocks Sense Danger skill.
Unlocks Multi-Player support.
STR increase 10%.
VIT increase 10%.
DEX increase 10%.

ACTIVE:
HP regeneration 10 per minute.
MP regeneration additional 400%.
Mana reset time reduced 50%.
STR increase additional 25%.
VIT increase additional 25%.
DEX increase additional 25%.

A very surprised Blake looked down after reading the long window at the book that now began to glow in her hands.

"Wha-?"

Noticing the flash of light that appeared in the corner of the library where Blake had been rummaging through a minute ago, Jaune stood up to look for her. A few seconds later, he found her on her knees in the middle of the aisle, staring at her outstretched hands as if she had just killed someone.

"Blake! Are you... crying?"

The ravenette in question slowly looked up with watery eyes, the looks of which literally tugged at Jaune's heart until he felt like he could start crying along with her right then and there, "I... I didn't mean to..."

He walked over and got on his knees in front of her, pulling her in for a hug despite the fact that she didn't even move her arms as if she were holding something, "There there, you're okay... what happened?"

Slowly wrapping her arms around the concerned knight, Blake sniffled and began to the best of her abilities, "The alert... it.. it asked me if I wanted to learn the skill and I said yes... and then the book disappeaaared!"

Jaune deadpanned as the girl dropped her head onto him and began quietly sobbing into his shoulder, both because he wasn't quite good at handling a young woman crying and because of what she had just said.

"Ewhat."

"*sniffle* The book, Jaune!" Blake exclaimed, her voice muddled through his shoulder, "It promised me power but only delivered despair!"

"Um. Okay," he continued, pretty sure he had never seen Blake this emotional over... well... emotional at all, "But you said skill and book. Am I to believe this has anything to do with a skill book?"

Slowly pulling back and wiping her nose with her sleeve, the ravenette nodded meekly and Jaune lightly stood them both up leading her by her arms. The news of course caused a bubbling of excitement within him, but in consideration for the girl in mourning over the book that was lost in the amazing process, Jaune merely spoke up calmly.

"Okay then... just, join me at the table, 'kay?"

"Mhmm..."

Still leading her by her arm, the pair sat in the corner of the library at a small secluded table across from each other, the knight pulling out pen and paper in front of the catgirl but not before first adding a few words of comfort.

"So this skill book... it vanished after you consented to learning the skill, right?"

"Yeah," Blake replied, clearing her throat and giving a final wipe to her eyes that she was glad didn't have any makeup on them to ruin with the tears.

"Then it's just like a game that uses a skill book system - as soon as you learn a skill, the knowledge from the book flows into you completely causing the book itself to disappear. But as a book-lover, you should be happy!" Jaune encouraged while lightly placing his hand on her forearm, the faunus girl cocking her head at the strange words, "You see, many textbooks and guides just sit in the library unused, the few students that read them rarely ever reaping the full benefits from them... but you, Blake, you've done the author of that book and the creator of those skills the ultimate honor - learning said skills down to the 'T'!"

Blinking at the surprisingly effective encouragement, Blake smiled faintly and began to nod, "I... I guess so..."

"So cheer up," Jaune continued, now placing the writing instruments in front of her before giving her a casual shrug, "Besides, I'm sure the library has tons of copies... I mean, look at this place!"

Blake chuckled a bit, glancing at the knight unsurely as she picked up the pen, "What's this for?"

"For you to write down every buff you obtained from that book. It'll help me get an idea of what we're working with here."

"Oh. Alright," Blake conceded as she dipped her head and began writing on the paper, causing Jaune to smile when he saw how the tip of her tongue would stick out the side of her mouth while she concentrated on writing.

"Anyway," he began, shaking off the thought of how adorable she looked when she did that, "What skill did you learn exactly?"

"Aura."

"Aura?" Jaune echoed as Blake looked up and passed him the finished sheet, "That doesn't sound like it would help much."

"Oh but it does," Blake remarked, "Whereas before when we fought earlier, I could only subdue three dozen enemies or so, I'd now have the ability to defeat closer to five dozen... which is about what I was capable of doing before all this..."

"Ah, and I see you've unlocked a skill you wanted and some!" Jaune stated happily, "You got Dust Proficiency, Sense Danger, Mu-"

The catgirl cocked her head to the side as she glanced at the knight who had practically frozen in place on a particular set of words on the paper.

"Jaune, you alright?"

Even with her Faunus ears, she could barely hear more than a whisper from him as a devilish grin began growing wide across his face.

"party."

"Um, Jaune? You're... scaring me," she added uncertainly as he turned up to look at her with a scheming smirk.

"Partyyy~"

"Umm..."

"Blake, do you know what this means!?" Jaune finally spoke up, enthusiastically pointing at the Multi-player attribute on the paper he was now holding up, to which she shook her head blankly, "This means that you can invite others to join you in your quests or when grinding, sharing EXP and stats which in turn help the others level up!"

The ravenette blinked as the ecstatic knight continued in his own tirade.

"Except in my case, being that our level difference is so great, a party with the two of us would help me improve faster than I could've ever hoped for!"

"So... You're saying that if we hunt together under this multi-player function, I'm practically giving you a free ride to higher levels?" Blake asked curiously.

"Yes! All aboard the Belladonna Bus!" Jaune exclaimed as he stood up and did a fist pump in the air, prompting a few students in the general vicinity to turn and shush him before he sat back down with a sudden shiver, "Uh, Blake? Is it me or did it just get a little colder in the library?"

Blake glanced around and back at her arms as goosebumps rose with a small shudder of her own, "Definitely not just you. Could be the air conditioning."

The knight shrugged, the chill doing nothing to assay his elation as he looked back down at the sheet, "And these buffs look great! You'll even be able to cut your mana reset time in half!"

"Yeah, a fifteen minute turnaround does sound nice," she commented idly before realizing her mistake.

"Fifteen minutes?" Jaune asked questioningly with a raised brow, "You mean your Mana could reset with only a half-hour rest before? I'm pretty sure I was carrying you for the greater part of an hour out there..."

"Eheh..." the ravenette chuckled bashfully, a light blush coloring her cheeks, "It... must've slipped my mind?"

Not buying the bluff, Jaune leaned forward on the table over an elbow and flashed the flustered girl a knowing smirk, "So you got yourself a free ride on the Arc Express too, eh? You sly dog..."

"Erm, cat... actually," Blake mumbled as she tilted her head down, her eyes no longer visible.

"Eh?"

"Cat. It's the more suitable term in this case."

"No no, you see, it's actually a saying that- ohh..." Jaune cut himself off as he noticed Blake's wiggling bow.

It may not have seemed like much, but it was certainly the first time Blake had brought up her heritage so easily with a human before. Sure, team RWBY was no exception, but it sent a small tingle through the ravenette knowing that she'd just breached the topic without any need to whatsoever. And with Jaune of all people.

"Hey, let's make a bet," Jaune continued after a moment with a warm smile, "You and me join a party and we go out to put your new buffs to good use. Once we get the hang of things, we play a game of 'Who's the Better Killer', and if I win, you let me see your ears. Deal?"

Blake quirked a brow, never one to pass up a decent bet, "And if I win?"

His expression immediately faltered, apparently due to a lack of his thinking the plan through fully, "Um, if you win... you get to... see, my sword?"

The catgirl facepalmed, hiding the blush that returned with a vengeance as she muttered, "Jaune. You make the worst choices in words..."

"Um... sorry?" he replied innocently, not catching what she meant at all as he got everything together on the table and stood up to put them away, the catgirl eventually bringing her hand down to shake her head at him with a smirk and to stand up as well.

"Play your cards right, and I might take you up on that deal, Mister Arc."

He grinned as he tossed the skill list into the nearby trash bin, "Deal. Let's get out of here."

But the unexpected exclamation that suddenly came from behind them stopped them each in their tracks, the ravenette and the blonde simultaneously gulping involuntarily as they slowly turned to face their aggressor.

"Not so fast!"

A/N: Well now there's TWO chapters. Great. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be getting back to this story for a while... but then again, breaking 100 followers and 1000 views in just over 24 hours has a way of motivating you like that :) In any case, the plot has been thought out and well underway to already being written (i.e. Scribbled on tissue papers and sticky notes around my house) so it is official - The Gamer Girl will play on! :D

Just a few side notes and fun facts about me: I love The Gamer but have little to no expertise on RPGs in general, I will likely put references to my favorite fandoms and other RWBY fics in this story (have fun with the Easter egg hunt), and no, I have not read The Games We Play. Yet ;)

But thank you all for your awesome reviews and kind kind words, and don't forget to Fave, Follow and Review to show your continued support! Till next time!

And Happy Reading!